Today, we woke up to heavy snowfall in Camp II. We began preparing for the climb to Camp III when the Hungarians arrived to our camp and told us the updated forecast. The bad weather had moved in early and the conditions up at Camp III were horrendous. Many of the fixed lines are buried under the new snow and the winds higher on the mountain were bone chilling. Lina and I discussed our plans for quite some time and finally settled on leaving a deposit in Camp III then descending to Base Camp. As we readied our equipment, the weather got worse. The wind picked up, the snow continued to fall, and visibility diminished quite dramatically. Despite all of this, we began up the slope to Camp III, and as we climbed higher, the temperature continued to drop and we finally threw in the towel and descended to Camp II. We opted to leave all of our equipment in Camp II, meaning that we will need to ascend directly to our high Camp II from Base Camp on our summit bid. Lina began descending while I further secured the tent to the surrounding terrain (our site is perched on a very steep, exposed ridge). We met up at Camp I and then at the deposit where we descended together. Despite the frigid weather above, the rivers at the base of the route were enormous and we were forced to cross them using ladders that had been precariously installed. Once across, we were met by Manzoor and Ibrahim, who offered us drinks and ushered us into the mess tent where we were quickly served lunch. We showered (and by showered, I mean we were given a bucket of water and a bowl and went to a tall, narrow tent to rinse off in the cold), then took refuge from the rain in our respective tents.

Today, we woke up in Camp II at 7:00am, made breakfast, then packed up our things and the tent and headed up toward Camp III. Around 6400m/20,997ft, we placed a high Camp II. We spent the next two hours digging out a tent platform and hacking at the ice that prevented the platform from being flat. While I completed the work on the platform and erected the tent, Lina headed back down to lower Camp II to collect the deposit she had left, and assisted Carlos in placing his tent in a new platform. I spent quite some time securing the tent to the surrounding rocks, then unpacked the equipment into the tent and began melting snow for water. Lina arrived and we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, discussing plans, and trying to replace the huge number of calories we burned doing work at this altitude. We decided that we will carry a tent to Camp III tomorrow and spend the night there.

Today, we woke up at 3:00am, ate a quick breakfast, then headed out into the cold predawn hours and headed up toward Camp I. As we began climbing up the steep base of the route, we heard a large avalanche, looked up and saw that it was coming from the serac below Camp III and heading in our direction. After ducking behind rocks, we were relieved when it didn’t make it all the way down to us, and continued heading up toward Camp I. After reaching ABC and taking a quick break there, we continued up. As we were passing some large rock outcroppings, we were shocked at how many fast-falling rocks were whizzing by us, and unfortunately, one of them managed to bounce off of the snow slope directly in front of Pilar, and slammed into her face just underneath her helmet. Luckily, Ana, a doctor climbing with the Spanish expedition, was descending from Camp I and I asked her to take a look at Pilar when she reached her. She had to pull out pieces of Pilar’s broken sunglasses from her face and gave her 4 stitches just under her eye. She arrived to Camp I and insisted that we all continue to Camp II as planned, despite our recommendations. We arrived to Camp II in the early afternoon and settled in. Lina and I discussed the plan for the following day and decided to spend the day in Camp II and move our tent spot a few hundred meters higher to a better place. We ate a quick dinner and went to sleep as the temperature dropped. Pilar slept in Lina’s tent that we put up the previous acclimatization cycle. She insisted on climbing up to Camp III the following day with the Hungarians. Lina and I know that the climb to Camp III is very long this year and that we carried quite a heavy load to Camp II today, so we insisted on staying in Camp II for an additional day in order to recover and to make a better tent platform that will withstand a storm in Camp II.

Today, we woke up at 7:45am, ate breakfast, and then did laundry. I received a weather forecast on my sat phone which solidified our plan to climb to Camp II (6200m/20,341ft) directly from Base Camp tomorrow. We will then climb to Camp III (7040m/23,097ft) on the 15th to sleep, then descend to Base Camp (4805m/15,764ft) on the 16th before snow begins to fall in the afternoon. After this acclimatization cycle, we will be ready for a summit bid when a weather window finally materializes. Rumors floating around base camp indicate that there may be a window opening around the 21st of July. But weather forecasts more than 3-4 days out are notoriously inaccurate, so we won’t be holding our breaths.

Today, we woke up at 7:45am, ate a leisurely breakfast, and decided to trek to K2 base camp (about 1.5 hours away) to visit some friends who are climbing K2. Lina, Carlos, and I headed up around lunch time. It wasn’t until I arrived to the base camp that I was blindsided by a flood of emotions. Suddenly, I was brought back to memories of the cheerful friendly faces of all of the friends who I lost in 2008 and it was hard for me to hold back tears. After taking a moment to compose myself, we visited some Spanish climbers who had just arrived, then stopped by the Nepali camp to see Pasang Akita who may become the first Nepali woman to summit K2. We ate lunch at the Polish K2 base camp then, to my relief, headed back down to Broad Peak base camp. We spent the remainder of the afternoon preparing our equipment for the next acclimatization cycle, in which we will hopefully sleep a night in Camp III (7040m) after which we will be ready for a summit bid. We are holding out hope for a weather window sometime between July 20th-30th.

Today, I woke up at 4:00am, had a tea and a protein bar, and headed out into the bitter cold toward Camp III. The whole morning, I couldn’t feel my hands or feet and at 6450m, I decided that I should descend. I reached Camp II again at 7:45am and quickly packed up the things I needed to bring back down to Camp I, then began rapidly descending toward Camp I, hoping that my hands and feet would thaw out. Thankfully they did as the sun began to shine on the slopes and I arrived quite quickly to Camp I where I deposited my gear and continued toward Base Camp. I finally arrived to Base Camp at 11:30am after crossing two ladders which had been installed to allow climbers to cross what had become fast-moving rivers that would have otherwise prevented us from reaching the mountain. Once back in Base Camp, I said my hellos to Lina and Pilar who had arrived an hour or so earlier from Camp I and then showered, ate lunch, unpacked, and visited with the Hungarian and Polish climbers and Alex Gavan (Romania). Afterwards, we had a leisurely dinner with a Catalan climber and then went to sleep under a full moon.

Today, we woke up at 5:00am, ate breakfast, prepared our packs, and departed at 6:00am for Camp II. The day was quite cold and windy, so we didn’t stop much along the way. Lina and I arrived to Camp II (6200m) at around 10:30am and quickly dug out a tent platform in the frozen scree and set up the tent. Lina deposited her equipment in the tent and quickly began descending as it was extremely cold and she couldn’t feel her hands or feet. Pilar arrived shortly afterwards and also made a deposit in the tent and descended to Camp I. I continued working on the tent platform and enjoyed the view from Camp II of K2, Marble Peak, Chogolisa, Mitre Peak, and Mashabrum once the clouds had dissipated. In the evening, Badia and Mauricio (Mexico) arrived from Camp III where they had established a camp and descended due to the bitter cold. We had a tea together and discussed route conditions above Camp II, then they descended the rest of the way to their tent in Camp II. Since I don’t have a headache here in Camp II, I plan on ascending a few hundred meters toward Camp III (7040m) in the morning, then descending directly to Base Camp to rest for a few days. Unfortunately when swapping out the food I had stored in the deposit, I didn’t realize that the bag I grabbed only had one dinner in it, so I had a protein bar and a tea and went to sleep hungry. The night was bitterly cold and my sleeping bag was no match (I’m sure it doesn’t help that I am not properly acclimated to this altitude) so I spent a very cold and uncomfortable night in Camp II.

Today, we woke up at 4:30am, ate a quick breakfast and left for Camp I. We stopped briefly at the deposit at 5000m to pick up some additional gear and then continued up the steep, icy slopes to Camp I (5700m). I arrived in 3.5 hours and the others followed shortly thereafter. As camp I is an extremely small camp, I arrived to find no vacant proper sites for the tent. I spent a half hour preparing a very small platform just beneath the route to Camp II and set up the small EV Direct tent, which just barely fit on the platform. After this Lina arrived and we spent the rest of the afternoon making water and enjoying the breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks. Once Pilar and Carlos had arrived, we discussed our plans for tomorrow. As I had arrived with no headache and feeling well, I decided that I will sleep tomorrow night in Camp II, while the others will simply make a deposit there and descend to sleep another night in Camp I.

Today, we decided to make a carry to the deposit on the other side of the ice fall. We agreed that the route would be safer tomorrow after the new snowfall has had a day to settle. We woke up at 4:30am, had breakfast at 5am and were back in Base Camp by 9:00am. Taking into account the four-day weather window that is forecast – a rare event in the Karakorum – we are hoping to climb to Camp I tomorrow to sleep, then either descend to the deposit to retrieve more equipment which we will install in Camp II, or just carry enough equipment tomorrow to outfit both camps. This is only a plan, however, and we will definitely be listening closely to the limitations set forth by our bodies. In the afternoon, we visited with the Bulgarians who plan to make a summit attempt in the coming days, and also spoke via radio with the Polish expedition to discuss collaboration regarding fixing the route above Camp I. Currently, the only ropes installed are up to Camp I. The Bulgarians dug up the old fixed lines from Camp I to Camp II and these are currently being used by some expeditions on the mountain. We spent the remainder of the afternoon packing our gear for tomorrow and we’re hoping for a cool, clear morning like we had today for our climb to Camp I.

Today, I woke up around 7:45am and was struck the second I stepped out of my tent by the stunning view of K2 covered in snow that greeted me. Seeing the peak that took so many of my friends’ lives six years ago was definitely an emotional moment for me. After taking a few pictures and clearing the accumulation of snow off of my tent and solar panel, I headed down to the mess tent for breakfast. Lina, Pilar and I discussed our plan to head up to Camp I tomorrow. We debated between two options: 1. a simple carry to camp I in which we leave a deposit of equipment and descend the same day or 2. Carrying tents, fuel, food, and the equipment we would need to sleep a night in Camp I. We decided to prepare our equipment for both contingencies and decide how we felt at dinner. The weather is forecast to improve and to remain good for the next 7 or 8 days so we hope to take full advantage of the good weather if it in fact does materialize. Afterwards, I showered, ate lunch, and continued to set up my solar array and tech equipment.

Today, we woke up at 5:00am, packed up our equipment, ate a quick breakfast and headed up to Concordia (4622m) where we broke for lunch. Akbar and I arrived first and had tea at the Concordia Rescue camp while we waited for the others to arrive. Pilar arrived shortly after and then Carlos. Since we’d already been waiting for quite some time, Akbar and I decided to begin toward Broad Peak base camp while the others visited some Spanish climbers who were camped in Concordia. We arrived to Broad Peak base camp in heavy snow, having taken a long detour due to a wrong turn along the way. We met up with Lina, tipped the Sirdar and a few of the porters who were helping us to set up base camp, and then headed over to Badia and Mauricio’s (Mexico) base camp. They graciously offered us tea and lunch (not to mention refuge from the bitter cold outside). After visiting for a while, we returned to our own camp to unpack our equipment and settle in, our view of the surrounding peaks completely obscured by clouds. We ate a delicious dinner then got an early night.

Today we woke up to light snowfall and quickly ate breakfast and departed for Goro II (4240m). We broke quickly at Goro I for a snack and arrived to Goro II around 1pm. We discussed porter tips as they must be decided prior to our arrival to Broad Peak base camp. The porters typically leave all of their personal equipment and extra clothing at Goro II on the last day and so must quickly receive their tip and descend once they arrive to base camp. Lina will proceed one hour ahead of us tomorrow so she can scout out a good place for our base camp and ensure that all of the porters arrive to this location.

It continued to rain all night. We awoke at 5:00am and were told that we needed to decide whether we would wait in Paiju one day for the weather to improve or continue on as planned to Urdukas. After consulting with Hadi Ali, our Sirdar from Shigar who informed us that the porters agreed to continue despite the weather, we elected for the latter and quickly prepared our loads. We walked for over 5 hours before we broke for lunch at Korbuche. The route was severely convoluted by a massive landslide which we had to cross and which created a huge lake that we needed to circumnavigate. After lunch (again in the rain, but this time with no shelter) we continued on for around 3 hours before arriving to Urdukas (3902m). Our porter loads took hours more to arrive and the temperature was frigid in camp. We finally settled in for dinner as the last of our loads arrived. Tomorrow we will continue on to Goro II and the following day we should arrive to Broad Peak base camp.

Today, we woke up in the rain at 5:00am, ate breakfast, and trekked to Monjongpdera where we stopped for lunch. We took refuge from the rain in a small, dark shelter and waited close to an hour for everyone to arrive. We continued to Paiju (in the rain) and quickly changed out of our wet clothes. We said goodbye to two of our porters, had dinner, and then went to bed early.

Today, we woke up at 5:00am, ate a quick breakfast, and began the trek to Jhula. Thankfully, it was a cool, cloudy morning and we made good time to Korofong where we took a break for lunch. We were stopped by park officials who demanded that we pay a $110.00 fee for entering the region. We protested as we were told that this fee was not sanctioned and after some time, the official left us, having us fill out the form, but allowing us to pass without paying the fee. We arrived to Jhula, showered, had visits from a number of porters with a variety of medical issues, which we tried to address to the best of our abilities, and then ate dinner. Tomorrow, we will continue the trek to Paiju.

Today, we woke up at 4:30am, ate a quick breakfast, loaded our equipment into the jeeps and departed Skardu to Askole. As always, the drive was an adventure, as the road (or for the most part, lack of road) is extremely narrow, crosses many fast-moving rivers, and goes underneath land-slide prone slopes. We stopped midway at Apoaligon for lunch in the garden and eventually arrived to Askole around 2:30pm. We ventured out of the compound where climbers typically camp and went exploring. We spent the rest of the afternoon preparing our loads for the trek and watching as the loads were weighed, weighed again, then tied to metal frames for the porters to carry to base camp. Once this was done, we had dinner in the mess tent and went to sleep.